The measurement of physiological signals from a patient for monitoring the patient and/or diagnosing a particular medical condition conventionally requires medical instrumentation to be physically attached to the patient. This includes attaching electrodes to the patient at the measurement site and then transmitting the measured signals to the medical instrumentation via cables. In some cases, this can result in many cables being connected between the patient and the medical instrumentation. For instance, for multimodality intraoperative monitoring measurements, there may be anywhere from 4 to 32 measurement channels, for electromyography (EMG) measurements there may be 1 to 4 measurement channels, for electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements, there may be ten measurement channels and for measuring brain potentials, there may be more than 128 channels in cases where signals are measured from the cortex.
The plurality of cables connecting the patient to the medical instrumentation provides many disadvantages. The cables are uncomfortable for the patient and limit the mobility of the patient. It is important for the patient to remain mobile so that the patient does not develop any blood clots. The cables also make it difficult to perform any tests on the patient which require the patient to move. Further, in some cases, the cables may be stiff and can easily become detached from the patient especially when the patient moves.
The plurality of cables connecting the patient to the medical instrumentation are also cumbersome for the medical personnel that interact with the patient. In particular, the entire set-up can be confusing and in some cases requires expertise for arranging all of the different electrodes and cables. Accordingly, the time required for attaching or removing the electrodes and cables to or from the patient can be quite long. This can be detrimental in situations in which speed is of the essence. In addition, the medical personnel may accidentally trip or become entangled in the cables. Further, in the operating room, the cables to the patient are not accessible during surgery since the cables are in the “sterile field”. This is a problem when troubleshooting faulty cables since cables in the operating room are routinely run over by people and heavy equipment and therefore subject to a high failure rate.